'American Idol' Judge Luke Bryan Teases Blake Shelton After a Dad Loses His Temper During Audition

American Idol judge Luke Bryan teased his friend, and The Voice coach, Blake Shelton after a dad [...]

By Stephen Andrew

American Idol judge Luke Bryan teased his friend, and The Voice coach, Blake Shelton after a dad lost his temper during an audition. The scene unraveled in Sunday's season premiere of American Idol, the series' fourth on ABC, while 17-year-old singer Danica Steakley hoped to land a spot on the show. Her father, 72-year-old Dan Steakley — who played guitar — showered praise on his daughter, saying, into the camera, "The first time I heard Danica sing, I knew she was gonna be the winner of American Idol."

However, Danica did not make it past the audition, as judges Bryan and Lionel Richie felt that she is talented but not ready for stardom just yet. Katy Perry, the only judge to give Danica a "yes," said candidly, "I think you're very talented, but I think you're 17 and you can hear it in your voice a little bit. Kind of, a little lack of experience. There's a bit of a timidness, or a shyness when delivering." Richie agreed, and then Bryan spoke directly to both father and daughter while echoing his fellow judges' sentiments. "Well, Dad, I know this is quite frustrating to hear, and for you too, Danica," he said. "You have all the makings to grow into a really, really, really great singer… you're not quite ready to tackle this competition."

At one point, Bryan also made a comment to his fellow judges about Dan's guitar playing, saying, "Well Pops needs to go practice the guitar." Dan then suddenly left, clearly frustrated, and attempted to avoid speaking with American Idol host Ryan Seacrest on the way out. As he huffed down the hallway, he could be heard saying., "Why didn't they just say 'no' right away?"

He then turned his ire at Bryan specifically, grumbling, "I don't even know any Luke Bryan songs anyway besides 'Knockin' Boots.' Next time I'll have her audition for The Voice." During the airing of the show Bryan opted to have a little fun with the tense moment, tweeting to Shelton, "Welp, hopefully [Danica Steakley's] Dad knows your songs." Shelton is Bryan's country-counterpart on The Voice, as both men represent the genre on their respective series'.

If the Steakely's do end up auditioning for The Voice, it will certainly be interesting to see how it goes. American Idol airs on Sunday nights at 8 p.m. ET on ABC. The Voice returns to NBC on March 1.

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